The Unexpected Target
by Thanos6
Summary: Babidi returns from the grave to strike at the Son family, with quite unpredictable results...


The Unexpected Target  
  
by  
Thanos6  
  
Hello all. This is another in my Royalty Series of Dragonball fics. This is unlike the others in a critical way, however. The other ones required some knowledge of the previous fics to be fully enjoyed. This one does not; I will simply fill you in as you go along. It's not too complicated.  
  
Whether you loved it, hated it, or were indifferent, please leave me a review! I can't get enough feedback.  
  
This story is dedicated to my parents and to Miss Shandelle Tennant. Thanks to ladymoonlight for the inspiration.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
***  
  
There was a section of the galaxy where sorcerers wielded enormous power and influence, even more so than they did elsewhere. They were the first to sense the deaths of the mighty King Cold and Freeza on the planet Earth, and hence the best prepared to fill the resulting power vacuum.  
  
The castle of one of the sorcerers was absent for a few years, however. That is because its owner also died on Earth.  
  
However, recently there was a new sign of activity in the deserted palace. A green flame erupted on the vacant throne, scattering dust before it. After a few seconds, the flame took on substance and form, shaping itself into a small little being with wrinkled, yellow skin.  
  
When it became fully solid, it let out a high-pitched burst of cackling.  
  
"Look out, universe! Babidi is back!"  
  
***  
  
As the sun fell, Son Gohan and Videl staggered through the front door and into their house. The Great Saiyacouple, as their friends had nicknamed them, were worn out. It had been a long day. It seemed as if a small crime wave had erupted in Satan City. As he received request after urgent request from the chief of police, Gohan had been forced to eventually cancel all of the classes he taught at the college.  
  
Gohan's income as a scholar, combined with the vast bank account of his father-in-law, was enough to allow Videl not to work. Instead, she usually maintained a presence in Satan City throughout the day. The mere fact that she was somewhere about was often enough to deter potential criminals. When it wasn't, she'd bust them almost immediately. On the rare occasion that she couldn't handle the situation, she signaled Gohan for backup.  
  
Today, though, it was as if every criminal in the sprawling metropolis had planned and launched a concerted attack on law and order. Even with every police officer in the city working hard, the Great Saiyaman One and Great Saiyaman Two had been hard-pressed to stop the disorder.  
  
Now, at last, they were home. After they deactivated their costumes and tossed the devices that summoned them onto a small table, Videl looked at her husband.  
  
"You feel like cooking?"  
  
He shook his head. "No, not really." His mother, Chi-Chi, was a superb cook, and he had picked up quite a lot over the years. He usually did most of the cooking, except on special occasions like his birthday. Tonight, though, he was just too tired.  
  
"Me either."  
  
They ended up having a few sandwiches cobbled together out of whatever they could find in the refrigerator (which was, being in a house with a half-Saiyan, quite large). After supper, they headed into the living room to watch some television.  
  
Well, that was the intent. Things worked out quite differently.  
  
They nodded off to sleep not ten minutes after settling down on the couch. Gohan reclined back on the sofa, one of the armrests acting as a pillow. Videl, in turn, was stretched out on top of him. They had their arms wrapped around each other, clutching as if the person they were holding was the most valuable thing in the world. They quite probably were.  
  
The day, at least, had ended nicely.  
  
***  
  
At his own house, Son Goku suddenly awoke.  
  
He blinked in the darkness for a moment, and then noticed that Chi-Chi wasn't in bed. He couldn't hear any activity from the bathroom either. A quick glance at the clock revealed the time to be 3:31 AM.  
  
A bit concerned, he got up and began to look for her, taking care to make as little noise as possible. He didn't want to wake his younger son Goten, his father Bardock, or his father-in-law Gyu-Mao the Ox-King. It wasn't long before he saw a light coming from that most holy of places, the kitchen.  
  
He poked his head in and saw Chi-Chi. She was in prime cooking mode, preparing quite a bit of delicious looking food. Her back was turned to him.  
  
His drool must have made a loud splashing sound upon impact with the floor, because she whirled around to face him. After seeing who it was, she sighed. Goku made a beeline for the food, but she held out an arm to stop him.  
  
"This food isn't for you," she said sternly. "That was the whole reason I'm making it at three in the morning, so that you wouldn't try and get it."  
  
"Well, who is it for?" he said, looking disappointed.  
  
"It's for Gohan and Videl. I'm taking it over tomorrow to apologize for being so impolite lately."  
  
"And I don't get any?" he asked.  
  
He looked so pathetic that she had to give in. "OK, when I'm done with this I'll make you some. But you don't get to eat it until after the sun comes up. Now go back to bed."  
  
"Sure!"  
  
As he zipped off to the bedroom, Chi-Chi smiled and shook her head.  
  
***  
  
To his disgust, Babidi found his planet utterly deserted. He supposed that a rival wizard had taken the population for slaves. The world itself, however, was relatively untouched. And that was all that the small sorcerer needed.  
  
Descending into the depths of his castle, he found a small one-being spaceship he had hidden away. He could get to his destination by means of magic, but such a vast expenditure of thaumaturgical energy would undoubtedly tip off the Kaioshin as to his return. He was not ready to reveal his hand just yet.  
  
He activated the spaceship and plotted a course for the planet known as Earth.  
  
***  
  
Gohan and Videl walked into their house, in a very good mood. This day had gone a lot easier than yesterday.  
  
The whole idea of the crime wave seemed to have backfired. By showing that the police and the local superheroes could deal with even such an enormous crisis, all it seemingly accomplished was to drive the crooks into hiding. Videl hadn't seen one crime today, and Gohan had been able to teach his classes without interruption.  
  
After they placed their costume bands on their bedside table, the scholar had plenty of energy and was able to create another culinary work of art. Normally Videl did the dishes, as per the household division of labor, but Gohan had already prepared for his classes tomorrow. Instead, he pitched in and they got it done in half the normal time.  
  
"I can't believe there's nothing good on TV," said Videl in disgust five minutes later. They had been channel surfing.  
  
"That's OK. I know of something better to keep us entertained," Gohan said softly, kissing the back of her neck. His wife grinned, then slipped out of his grasp.  
  
"You'll have to catch me first!"  
  
So began a mad chase through the house. Gohan could have won it easily if he had used his superspeed, but he wanted to keep it fair.  
  
He finally managed to grab her, appropriately enough, in the bedroom. The two of them fell and rolled a few feet, laughing like children. Then they commenced the post-race activities.  
  
***  
  
As Chi-Chi drove on, she wondered exactly what had driven her to do this. She had rather grudgingly accepted that the couple actually did love each other, but she still didn't like Videl too much. So why was she bothering to try and make amends?  
  
Deep inside she knew the answer. Gohan. A small part of her realized that if he were forced to take sides between the two of them, he would choose his spouse over his mother. The rest of her was rebelling against this idea, and trying to win him back over to her side. Hence the food.  
  
She arrived at their house a few minutes later. She pulled into the driveway, picked up a couple of baskets full of foodstuffs, and walked up to the door. She knocked on it a few times. No response.  
  
After tapping her foot for a couple of seconds, she tried the knob. It was unlocked, and the door swung open easily. She looked in, but couldn't see her son or her daughter-in-law.  
  
"Gohan? Videl?" she called into the house. Again, there was no response.  
  
She was about to simply set down the baskets down on a table and leave a note, when she heard some noise coming from the bedroom.  
  
Oh, she thought, they're watching TV or something and just didn't hear me. I think I'll go surprise 'em.  
  
***  
  
"Gohan…"  
  
"Videl…"  
  
"Gohan!"  
  
"Videl!"  
  
"OH GOHAN!"  
  
"OH VIDEL!"  
  
"OH MY KAMI-SAMA!"  
  
The young couple looked up with a start. Chi-Chi was framed in the doorway of the bedroom. She was holding two baskets. Her jaw was agape and her eyes were wide. She appeared to be in shock.  
  
"MOM!" shouted Gohan. "Get outta here! Go wait in the living room or something!"  
  
She nodded mutely, turned around, and walked off.  
  
***  
  
Chi-Chi had been seated in a chair in the living room for a few seconds, trying and failing to forget what she had just seen, when Gohan and Videl came in. Instead of tossing on some normal clothes, they had just used the costume summoners to put on their Great Saiyaman outfits.  
  
Unfortunately, they were wearing each other's. Gohan was clad in his wife's sky blue costume, and Videl in her husband's lime green outfit. They didn't seem to have noticed.  
  
"Call next time, Mom. Call before you just come over," Gohan mumbled before the two of them sat down on the couch. "Whatcha need?"  
  
"Um…I just wanted to drop off some food…kind of a peace offering…"  
  
Gohan looked puzzled. "Peace offering? What do you mean?"  
  
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Videl and I had a little argument about who was best suited to take care of you while you were injured."  
  
He glanced over at Videl for confirmation. She nodded.  
  
"Well, that doesn't sound like a big deal. Thanks for the food though." His mouth was watering at the thought of all that succulent fare.  
  
"Er…no problem…I think I'd better be going now…let you two get back to your business…" With that, she hurried out the door before the couple could say another word.  
  
***  
  
"So how did things go?" asked Goku when Chi-Chi returned.  
  
"I'll tell you in a second." She escorted Goten to his room. When she came back, she told the others the story of what had just happened. Her voice was shaking, and she was still clearly embarrassed and shocked.  
  
By the time the story was over, Goku was blushing slightly. Bardock was guffawing loudly.  
  
"Hear that, Bardock?" said Gyu-Mao, also laughing and nudging the Saiyan in the ribs. The two had developed an odd kind of rapport. "It won't be much longer before we're great-grandfathers!"  
  
Chi-Chi visibly paled. Ever since she had first met Videl, the idea of becoming a grandmother had of course crossed her mind a few times. However, the possibility had never seemed so real as it had today, for obvious reasons.  
  
***  
  
As his spaceship headed to Earth at blazing speeds, Babidi contemplated his revenge and whom he would destroy first.  
  
There was, of course, that traitorous pointy-haired slave who had almost destroyed his wonderful demon Buu. There was the small purple-haired boy who had intervened in a futile attempt to stop the slave's death. There was the tall green individual who had actually chopped Babidi in half.  
  
In the end, though, he decided the first ones he would attack would be the three who were almost certainly related. The oldest one had referred to the younger one as his son, and the youngest of all, who accompanied the purple-haired boy, appeared to be a small clone of the oldest one.  
  
Yes, the mage had no doubt that it was a father and his two sons. And so he would strike them before the others, in the hopes that he could annihilate all three in a single blow.  
  
***  
  
"OK, extend your arms."  
  
"I've extended my arms."  
  
"Place your hands together at the bases, like this."  
  
"I've placed my hands together."  
  
"Now you gotta curve your fingers in. No, that's too much. There."  
  
"Fingers curved."  
  
"Reach in to your ki. Try and concentrate."  
  
"Reaching in."  
  
"Chant with me now. Ka…me…ha…me…ha!"  
  
"Ka…me…ha…me…ha!"  
  
A blue beam of energy shot out of Gohan's hands, but not out of Videl's. The two were standing in their backyard.  
  
"Damn it!" she said angrily when nothing happened. "Why can't I get this?" If she could learn the Kamehameha, the number of crime situations she could handle alone would increase dramatically.  
  
Gohan began to massage her shoulders. "Hey, you're doing great. Dad's the only person who ever got it on the first try. Even Goten and I needed practice. I'm sure you'll have it soon."  
  
"Mm, better not do that. We have to shower and get ready to go over to your parents' house." They were going to have dinner over there, in order to assuage whatever hurt feelings might remain.  
  
***  
  
Cloaked from all human detection, the small spaceship touched down in a forest approximately one hundred miles from Goku's house. Babidi exited, raised his arms, and then hesitated. He was about to perform a small magical spell. There was a chance the Kaioshin would sense it and identify his personal magical signature. However, the chance was quite remote for a spell this low-scale.  
  
"Paparra pa!"  
  
An arrow appeared floating in mid-air, pointing the way to his targets' residence. Babidi grinned nastily.  
  
***  
  
"Wow, this is really good, Mom. You're gonna have to give me the recipe for this."  
  
Chi-Chi smiled. "I don't know about that, Gohan. I have to have some way to make sure you keep visiting."  
  
The entire Son family was gathered around a circular table outside, enjoying a quite delicious meal in the lovely fall weather. Chi-Chi had quite deliberately placed herself on one side of Gohan; Videl, naturally, was on his other side. Goku sat next to Chi-Chi. Beside Goku was Goten, and next to Goten was Bardock. Gyu-Mao sat in-between Bardock and Videl.  
  
"Could you excuse me?" asked Videl suddenly, rising from the table and going inside the house.  
  
"Where's she going?" Goten wondered. Gohan put his head in his hands.  
  
***  
  
Having used a minor spell of flight, Babidi silently touched down in the bushes surrounding the clearing where dinner was taking place.  
  
Yes, there were his three targets. There was also another man with that same spiky hair, and a very large man, and a female. There was also an empty chair, so someone must be away at the moment.  
  
The warlock knew that he could not win this battle by himself. He would need an ally. But which one of them should he convert?  
  
There was no avoiding it. He'd have to cast another spell to see who among them would be the best target.  
  
"Paparra pa," he whispered. Now he could sense the energies of those at the table. The large man and the woman both had insignificant levels of power. The new man with the spiky hair had more power than either of those two, but still not enough to be of any use.  
  
The other two spiky-hairs had powers as great as he remembered. As for the last man…  
  
Babidi's eyes widened. That was several times the power that had been necessary to resurrect Buu. He made that wonderful demon seem insignificant. He would make the perfect slave.  
  
Except he had too pure of a heart to be twisted. The Majin transformation spell would not work on him.  
  
But it could be made to work, with a couple of modifications. Babidi could sense that the man had some severe cracks in his psychological well-being. He could mix another spell with the Majin spell and together they should work.  
  
"Paparra pa."  
  
***  
  
As they continued to eat, Gohan suddenly slammed his head on the table. As everyone watched, he rose from the table and screamed, "Get out of my mind!"  
  
"What is it, Gohan?" Goku asked, shocked. "What's in your mind?"  
  
"Arrgh…it's…it's Babidi…" replied Gohan as he clutched his head, obviously in pain.  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"I don't know. I can feel him…he's trying to take advantage of my fears…he's trying to put me under his control!"  
  
Everyone knew what Gohan's fears were. Afraid of failing those he loved, afraid that he would make a fatal mistake, afraid of failure to keep his power in control. Babidi was playing on them, trying to convince him that turning evil would be the only way he would not fall to them.  
  
"Fight it, Gohan, you can beat him. Don't let him win!"  
  
The scholar collapsed to the ground, groaning in agony. A moment later, he arose. Everyone quickly shrank back.  
  
There was a very familiar symbol on his forehead.  
  
***  
  
Babidi indulged in some more cackling. He'd done it. Nothing would stop him now.  
  
***  
  
The changed Gohan noticed that unlike Vegeta, he had not received an increase in power. He supposed that with no more potential power to unleash, there was none for the spell to bring out.  
  
Suddenly he heard a voice in his mind. It was commanding him to obey.  
  
"No, Babidi," he replied out loud. "I am no one's slave. I will do only what I wish to do. I will make revenge mine."  
  
"Who could he want revenge on?" Bardock whispered to Goku, who could only shrug in response.  
  
Gohan looked at his family. In a wicked tone none of them had ever heard him speak in before, he said, "Come here, Mom."  
  
Goku and Goten immediately moved in front of Chi-Chi. "What do ya wanna hurt Mom for, Gohan?" asked Goten, sounding mad.  
  
"I'll tell you why. As long as I can remember she's been trying to control every single aspect of my life. Of course mothers should have some control over their children, but she really went too far. You did, you know," he said as he shifted his attention to his mother. "Making me study is one thing, but forcing me to read textbooks until my eyes felt like they'd been boiled was another altogether. Anything more than a five minute break every two hours you thought was a waste of time." He advanced a step towards them, and they all moved back.  
  
"And you know what I wanted more than anything else? I wanted what Goten had. The ability to be carefree. Carefree!" As he shouted this last word, he let his power come to the surface, knocking everyone back several inches.  
  
"I was never allowed to be carefree. The first memory I have is of slamming into Raditz, and it doesn't get happier from there. I always had to be doing something. Studying, saving the universe, whatever. I was made to be far more responsible than anyone my age should have had to be! You all hold some of the fault, but it lays mostly with you, Mom. That's why I'm going to destroy you first. And then after that, I'll get my revenge on everyone else by destroying the planet."  
  
***  
  
Videl had just finished washing her hands and was toweling them off when she felt Gohan's ki rise. From what she could sense, he felt angry.  
  
She was worried. A few seconds earlier she'd heard some shouting outside and had assumed that they were having a good time swapping jokes, or something similar. But now…she was worried.  
  
She hurried back outside and stopped dead in her tracks. She'd arrived just in time to hear the last part of Gohan's rant. When she saw the symbol on his head, she knew what was going on. She didn't know how it was happening, but she knew what was happening.  
  
Unable to think of anything else to do, she tried to distract him from Chi-Chi. Desperate, she extended her hands, curved the fingers, reached into her ki, and began to chant.  
  
"Ka…me…ha…me…ha!"  
  
A beam of power shot out of her hands and slammed into Gohan's side. It didn't even budge him an inch, but it did get his attention. He looked her way.  
  
"Vi…del?" His eyes suddenly grew wide and his skin went pale. "I…I can't! Not while you're here…ARGH!"  
  
He fell to the ground again and resumed groaning. After a few seconds he rolled onto his back, and everyone noticed something.  
  
The symbol had vanished from his forehead.  
  
***  
  
Babidi screamed. This was impossible! No one had ever broken free of the influence of the spell before!  
  
Then he noticed everyone looking at him through the bushes. He'd given himself away. In a flash, Goku had grabbed the wizard by his robes and was holding him at eye level.  
  
"You. How did you come back?"  
  
Before he could stop himself, he'd spilled his secret.  
  
"In Hell…I cast a spell that slowly let me drain the powers of the others there. The other day I'd finally absorbed enough to let me come back to life."  
  
"Well, you won't stay alive for long."  
  
Goku dragged Babidi back into the clearing. "Gohan, I have someone to see you."  
  
The scholar rose to his feet. When he saw whom his father had, he snarled in anger.  
  
"Catch," said the Saiyan, tossing the mage into the air. Gohan flew up after him. Two seconds later, nothing was left of Babidi but a small wisp of smoke.  
  
Then Gohan collapsed unconscious.  
  
***  
  
The next day, Goku paid a visit to the Kaioshin. After he and the old Kaioshin who stayed with him heard the story, they were able to use some magic of their own to prevent Babidi from casting any more spells in Hell.  
  
Gohan apologized fervently to his family, who assured him that they didn't blame him. Still, it could be noticed that from that day forward Chi-Chi was a little bit less controlling.  
  
She was also a bit more polite to Videl.  
  
END  
  
***  
  
Well, that takes care of that story. I hope you enjoyed it.  
  
This'll be the last story I post in 2001. Holiday break starts soon, and I won't even be able to begin a new story until a week or so after New Year's.  
  
See you all on the other side of December. Stay safe, and PLEASE leave a review for this story, even if you despised it.  
  
Catch ya later,  
-Thanos6 


End file.
